Because of the size of the container you're using I'd suggest you try a semi-hydro system with a pot-in-pot method. That means you repot into clay pellets, using no soil. Way much lighter the pot will be so you can move it to a sink if you want, also easy to water. My snake plant likes it, only issue I found is the pellets being lightweight, the growing rhisome pushes the plant out from the pot.

Hmm. Interesting, Ms. G. Thanks. Can you walk me through it?

How does it differ from gritty mix? Right now, a number of my plants are in 2 parts granite to 1 part diatomaceous earth. The particles are around 1/8" to 1/4" in size. What are the clay pellets like? Are they especially for this? How do you water it? Do you buy special pots? Got any links?

Kwie,
I thought DE was used to kill plant pests? At least I'm pretty sure that's what my Mother used to kill troublesome aphids...

Planto

Diatomaceous earth has all kinds of uses. Among the more familiar are filter media for water purification systems, and finely ground dust that purportedly kills insects. It's also the primary constituant of Turface, OilSorb, and other liquid absorbents. That's what mine is. It's essentially generic Turface. Much cheaper.

Well I'll be darned. The stuff my Mother has is rather fine though, I don't think that hers would be advisable to use in a potting medium mix.

Planto

Kwie,
I would like to throw in my two cents worth. I think you will have better luck with your giant sans if you hold off on the repot until next spring. Just give it a light watering every month or two through the dark and and chilly winter months. If you repot now, it won't have an established root system to anchor it and it will probably fall over. Sans grow the best when the temps are high.
I like your curiosity and enthusiasm!
Barb

I am a bit concerned about keeping it upright after repotting, Barb, but the reason I want to repot it now is that I fear it will rot before I ever water it again. I last watered it about 2 months ago, and it is STILL wet. If you know a way I can dry out the soil it is currently in in this soggy climate, I might be able to wait to repot it, but I don't know how else to keep it from rotting in the next few weeks.

Planto, this DE looks a lot like cat litter.

Kwie,
Yours makes more sense using in a potting mixture than my Mother's, lol.

Planto

If you have your plant in a plastic or glazed pot, you could transfer it to an unglazed clay pot of the same size. The porous clay will help the potting media dry out much faster. You might get away with keeping the plant in the same soil until spring.

Personally I use a mix of diatomaceous earth (oil absorber from auto-parts store), perlite, and potting soil. This is my favourite mix for Sansevieria but, newly transplanted plants often need to be propped up with a rock, until they develop new roots.

Mike

If it will slide out of the pot without falling apart, inspect what's going on in there. If it's not rotting, just keep letting it dry out. Hopefully that's the case since I would also want to wait until spring to repot.

Thanks guys. Next spring it is. Meanwhile, I don't think I can move it to Terra cotta, but you've given me an idea, Mike. I'm going to cut large holes in the sides of the plastic pot and insert sections of screen to allow air flow so it can dry. I might even use a blow dryer on cool setting to hasten it. I'll also vacuum out as much loose dirt as I safely can with a Shop Vac, and replace it with DRY soil and/or perlite to reduce water retention. Then I'll use a strong squirt bottle this winter through the screen in the sides to water it. That way it'll never get soggy (cheater's watering method that really works great, BTW, if anyone else should ever have the need).

Thanks so much for your ideas and opinions guys. You might've saved my plant. I hadn't even considered waiting till spring.

Planto, DE comes in several forms. The fine, flour-like powder DE is used for pest control, and it works well. The larger, coarse DE is like light-weight flakes of Pumice.

Kwie, I use a gritty mix for my Sans. - a mix of bark, pumice, and perlite to achieve good drainage. You have all the ingredients to make a custom mix for your plant. I would err on the side of drainage...and then just water more often to compensate if need be.

Josh

Josh,
Thanks for the insight. My Mother did purchase some as a form of pest control and I was under the impression that was DE (I didn't know there were several forms of it).

Planto

It is done. Yesterday, I took out the top 1/3 of the soil, then cut holes in the side and covered with screen (drywall tape). The soil is damp, but surprisingly loose, not compacted really at all, and the roots all look fine. Hopefully it'll dry out more quickly this way, and get through the winter.

Thanks!